At today’s Weight Watchers At Work meeting, I experienced a huge Non-Scale Victory (NSV) that gave me warm fuzzies.

During the meeting, we were instructed to write down something positive about someone else in the room — some way that they’d inspired you, or maybe they’d shared a tip that you found helpful, that sort of thing. Without being prompted to share what we’d written, one member pointed me out, along with the woman who sits beside me, as inspirations to others due to our weight-loss success and our constant tracking.

See, my meeting-neighbor and I have frequently shared with the members how we track daily and graph different variables over time, so we can see what works and what doesn’t. I guess I hadn’t realized what an impression we’re making on others in the meeting… but here we are.

It feels good to be someone’s inspiration.

Other August NSVs:

Successfully ate less-processed food for two days a week for about two weeks.

Went to the 6th floor at work to hit the salad bar, and saw that they also had chicken alfredo in the steamer trays. Passed it up in favor of sticking to my less-processed food plan.

Passed on leftover blueberry pie when prompted by my boss. And that was some damn good pie.

Received another comment from my chiropractor about how much weight I’ve lost.

Sheryl commented in passing on how skinny my arms are getting.

Got a comment from the director of the fitness center at work that I’m getting smaller and smaller!

At first, I thought I’d call my two focus days Unprocessed Food days, until I realized that eating completely unprocessed food would make those days more of Raw Food days than just not eating pre-packaged food, which was the original intent. So, on my more-aptly-named Less-Processed Food days, I’ve been eating completely unprocessed foods like fruits and vegetables; but also moderately processed foods like pouch tuna, maple syrup, cocoa powder, and coffee; and a few very processed foods like low-calorie bread, instant grits, fat-free salad dressing, PB2, and Splenda. The main rule, though, is no pre-packaged snacks or frozen meals.

Where it really helps me is in keeping me away from convenience foods, especially in the evening. It’s so easy to grab a Fiber One cookie or brownie, and another one, and then maybe a Skinny Cow ice cream candy bar — and before I know it, I’ve eaten another meal’s worth of Points without even thinking. When I have to consciously think about what I’m going to eat — perhaps actually mix up a serving of chocolate syrup to go with my banana — it forces me to slow down and think about what I’m going to eat.

Where it also helps — and what makes it challenging to stick to, for me — is the need for meal planning. The days when I started throwing my hands up and saying sayonara to the Less-Processed Food days were the ones when I would fail to plan what was for dinner that night, or for lunch and snacks at work the next day. It’s the old adage: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

I want to continue at least one Less-Processed Food Day per week. It makes me feel good, physically and mentally. I like knowing that I can stick to something a little more regimented, and I just feel physically better when I eat “clean.”